Well, Teddy could have accepted Nixon's offer of national health insurance more than 30 years ago, even if the plan was less than perfect....but Teddy rejected it.

At least we all have the peace in knowing that his endorsement of Brarack Hussein Obama was not a mistake and error in judgment, but a medical malfunction of the brain.

He wasn't crazy after all....

"Kennedy won't kick the bucket till he finally wins universal health care."

Yes, being among those Senators who will fight and vote for the passing of the 'universal health care act of 2009' would be a fitting highlight at the conclusion of his carreer. Ted Kennedy is a fighter, I'm sure he'll make it. My thoughts and prayers go to the Kennedy family, which never stopped pursuing liberal ideas for a better US, despite all the tragedies that hit them.

I can't believe you failed to mention Kennedy's most important bill as he fights for Universal Care.

As Teddy stated himself the HMO Act of 1973 was the first step towards Universal Care.

Following are excerpts from Senator Ted Kennedy's opening statement at the March 3, 1978 hearing:

"Today the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research holds hearings on proposed amendments to federal statutes supporting the development of health maintenance organizations...These amendments would extend and strengthen current authorities supporting HMOs in this country....

"As the author of the first HMO bill ever to pass the Senate, I find this spreading support for HMOs truly gratifying. Just a few years ago, proponents of health maintenance organizations faced bitter opposition from organized medicine. And just a few years ago, congressional advocates of HMOs faced an administration which was long on HMO rhetoric, but very short on action.

"The current revival of the HMO movement should come as no surprise. HMOs have proven themselves again and again to be effective and efficient mechanisms for delivering health care of the highest quality. HMOs cut hospital utilization by an average of 20 to 25 percent compared to the fee-for-service sector. They cut the total cost of health care by anywhere from 10 to 30 percent. And they accomplish these savings without compromising the quality of care they provide their members.

"In fact, many medical experts argue that the peer review built into group practice in the HMO setting promotes a quality of care superior to that found in the traditional health care system.... "In our enthusiasm to see HMOs proliferate throughout this country we should not lose sight of the need to guarantee the quality and integrity of the prepaid plans we create."1

http://www.forhealthfreedom.org/Publications/Choice/ThenAndNow.html

I think it is important as Teddy enjoys top of the line care provided by a fee for service plan what congress had invisioned for the rest of us normal folks.

Why isn't Congress all enrolled in HMOs?????

I can't help but think about how Hillary may be the only person capable of picking up Kennedy's mantel in the Senate. The similarities are striking. She is driven by children's and worker's needs. She is a villain for the far right and yet has demonstrated the ability to build coalitions for liberal causes that include republicans.

Being Ted Kennedy's successor would be a pretty good gig. If she's as good at it as he was, it could be better (from a productivity standpoint) than having been president. I wish she'd come to that conclusion.

Add to your list: Kennedy has been the only Senator who has stood up consistently and ardently for gay equality. He's never been able to achieve much in the Senate, because his Democratic colleagues are a bunch of terrified wusses in the face of homophobia, but at least he's made the effort.

jacob

what legacy has her most important senate votes contributed to?
i think there is a big difference between john, robert and teddy kennedy and bill and hillary clinton.
for the kennedys, governance was not primarily about self-aggrandizement and an arrogance in power.
having watched the clintons over the years, they have been driven primarily by acquisition of personal power and arrogance.
the kennedys have had their share of scandals, but i could not compare bill and hillary clinton to john, robert,teddy, jacqueline or caroline kennedy.
when hillary clinton, says that she wont stop fighting for others, she means she wont stop fighting for herself.
when the kennedys said they wouldnt stop fight fighting for others, they meant it.

Perhaps I am too charitable, but I think she is motivated by the (possibly misguided) belief that she is the best person for the job.

To date, she has behaved as a Senator who was running for president. If she settled into the role of Senator from New York with an extremely safe seat, it would liberate her to fight better fights.

When Kennedy leaves the Senate, Hillary will become the highest profile, best known Senator. She claims to stand for most of the same things he stands for, and I take her at her word. If she want to, she is his logical heir.

Of course, that would require her to devote herself to being a Senator, and stop running for President ever again. I don;t know that she'll do that.

MSNBC brought this up towards the end of their West coast coverage, Hillary taking up the mantel of a life-long heavyweight Senator and one that could possibly enact more change and have a bigger impact on the country than in 8 years of the Presidency.

I don't know about you, but I take trolls seriously when they say Obama's middle name like it's a dirty secret and then make light of someone's terminal illness.

I agree with you, jacob. But I can't help but feel that Hillary feels she's too good for the Senate, in spite of the fact that a long-serving Senator can probabaly do more good interms of domestic policy than any president.

If she ends her Senate career decades from now with a fraction of the accomplishments of Teddy Kennedy, I will be veery pleased, and she will have earned my gratitude and my respect. Until then, though, my feelings of disgust remain undiminished.

And out in Crazytown, Michael Savage marked the occasion by playing songs from the Dead Kennedys. Keep it classy, Savage.

Amen, Tom Hilton.